Disk array system

• US 7,447,121 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2007
• Issued: 11/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ogawa, Takuji, Yagisawa, Ikuya, Kano, Azuma
• Primary Examiner(s): Neyzari; Ali
• Application Number:
  US11/723,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: 369/30.28, 369/30.38, 369/30.58, 369/30.29, 369/30.06, 369/30.4, 369/30.41, 369/30.46, 369/30.43, 369/34.01, 714/6, 714/7, 714/43, 711/114
• US Class Current: 369/30.28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1076 Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0614 Improving the reliability of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/18 Error detection or correction; Testing , e.g. of drop-outs

Abstract

A disk array system having first and second housings and a controller for controlling the first and second housings. Fiber channel hard disk drives are received in the first housing, and serial ATA hard disk drives are received in the second housing. When reading data stored in a serial ATA hard disk drive in the second housing, the controller reads a plurality of pieces of data including the data to be read and parity data for the plurality of pieces of data from all the hard disk drives of an RAID group to which the hard disk drive storing the data to be read belongs. Thus, the controller examines whether the plurality of pieces of data including the data to be read are written in the hard disk drives with erroneous contents or not.

Claims

1. A storage system, comprising:

a controller adapted to be coupled to at least one of information processing devices and storing a plurality of data and a parity data in a plurality of storage regions, said parity data generated by using said plurality of data;

a plurality of disk drives having said storage regions and having a plurality of first type disk drives each of which has a first type interface and a plurality of second type disk drives each of which has a second type interface;

wherein said first type disk drives configure a first RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) group in which a plurality of first data and a first parity data are stored,

wherein said second type disk drives configure a second RAID group in which a plurality of second data and a second parity data are stored, said second RAID group having a same redundancy of said first RAID group, and

wherein said controller reads data from one or more said disk drives with a different procedure based on a type of disk drives from which data are read, if said controller receives a read request from said information processing device.

2. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein:

said controller reads data requested by a first read request from one of said first type disk drives, if data requested by said first request are stored in said one of said first type disk drives, and

said controller reads said plurality of second data and said second parity data from said second type disk drives, if data requested by a second read request are stored in said second type disk drives.

3. A storage system according to claim 1 wherein:

said controller reads said plurality of second data and said second parity data from said second type disk drives, if data requested by said read request are stored in said second type disk drives.

4. A storage system according to claim 1 wherein:

said controller reads the first amount of data from one or more of said first type disk drives, if said controller receives a first read request relating to said one or more first type disk drives from said information processing device,

said controller reads the second amount of data from one or more of said second type disk drives, if said controller receives a second read request relating to said one or more second type disk drives from said information processing device, and

said first amount of data are different from said second amount of data based on said type of disk drives from which data are read.

5. A storage system according to claim 1 wherein:

said controller reads data from one or more of said first type disk drives by the first number of access of said one or more first type disk drives, if said controller receives a first read request relating to said one or more first type disk drives from said information processing device,

said controller reads data from one or more of said second type disk drives by the second number of access of said one or more second type disk drives, if said controller receives a second read request relating to said one or more second type disk drives from said information processing device, and

said first number of access is different from said second number of access based on said type of disk drives from which data are read.

6. A storage system according to claim 1 wherein:

said first type interface is an FC (Fibre Channel) interface, and

said second type interface is an ATA (AT Attachment) interface.

7. A storage system according to claim 1 wherein:

said first type interface is an FC (Fibre Channel) interface, and

said second type interface is a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) interface.

8. A storage system according to claim 1 wherein:

each of said second type disk drives has a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) interface, and

each of said first type disk drives has higher reliability than said second type disk drives.

9. A storage system, comprising:

a controller adapted to be coupled to at least one of information processing devices and storing a plurality of data and a parity data in a plurality of storage regions, said parity data being generated by using said plurality of data;

a plurality of disk drives having said storage regions and having a plurality of first type disk drives each of which has a first type interface and a plurality of second type disk drives each of which has a second type interface;

wherein said first type disk drives configure a first RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) group in which a plurality of first data and a first parity data are stored,

wherein said second type disk drives configure a second RAID group in which a plurality of second data and a second parity data are stored,

wherein a RAID revel of said first RAID group is same as a RAID level of said second RAID group, and

wherein said controller reads data from one or more of said disk drives with a procedure based on a type of disk drives from which data are read, if said controller receives a read request from said information processing device.

10. A storage system, comprising:

a controller adapted to be coupled to at least one of information processing devices and storing a plurality of data and a parity data in a plurality of storage regions, said parity data generated by using said plurality of data;

a plurality of disk drives having said storage regions and having a plurality of first type disk drives each of which has a first type interface and a plurality of second type disk drives each of which has a second type interface;

wherein said first type disk drives configure a first RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) group in which a plurality of first data and a first parity data are stored,

wherein said second type disk drives configure a second RAID group in which a plurality of second data and a second parity data are stored, said second RAID group having a same redundancy of said first RAID group, and

wherein said controller controls whether said parity data are read from said disk drives in said first or second RAID group based on a type of disk drives from which data are read, if said controller receives a read request from said information processing device.

11. A storage system according to claim 10 wherein:

said first type interface is an FC (Fibre Channel) interface, and

said second type interface is an ATA (AT Attachment) interface.

12. A storage system according to claim 10 wherein:

said first type interface is an FC (Fibre Channel) interface, and

said second type interface is a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) interface.

13. A storage system according to claim 10 wherein:

each of said second type disk drives has a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) interface, and

each of said first type disk drives has higher reliability than said second type disk drives.

14. A storage system, comprising:

a controller adapted to be coupled to at least one of information processing devices and receiving a write data sent from said information processing devices and storing a plurality of data and a parity data generated by using said write data in a plurality of storage regions;

a plurality of disk drives having said storage regions and having a plurality of first type disk drives each of which has a first type interface and a plurality of second type disk drives each of which has a second type interface;

wherein said first type disk drives configure a first RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) group in which a plurality of first data and a first parity data are stored,

wherein said second type disk drives configure a second RAID group in which a plurality of second data and a second parity data are stored, said second RAID group having a same redundancy of said first RAID group, and

wherein said controller reads data from one or more said disk drives with a different procedure based on a type of disk drives from which data are read, if said controller receives a read request.

15. A storage system, comprising:

a controller adapted to be coupled to at least one information processing apparatus and writing a plurality of data received from said at least one information processing apparatus and a parity data of said plurality of data into a plurality of disk drives;

said plurality of disk drives including a plurality of first type disk drives and a plurality of second type disk drives, wherein an I/O performance and power consumption of each of said plurality of first type disk drives are different from an I/O performance and power consumption of each of said plurality of second type disk drives due to a type of disk drive;

wherein said plurality of first type disk drives configure a first RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) group in which a plurality of first data and a first parity data of the plurality of first data are stored,

wherein said plurality of second type disk drives configure a second RAID group in which a plurality of second data and a second parity data of said plurality of second data are stored, said second RAID group having a same RAID level of said first RAID group, and

wherein said controller executes a different write procedure based on a type of disk drive to which data are written, if said controller writes data in one or more of said plurality of disk drives.

16. A storage system according to claim 15, wherein:

said controller writes said plurality of data and said parity data into said plurality of disk drives via an FC (Fibre Channel) interface.

17. A storage system according to claim 15, wherein:

said plurality of first type disk drives are FC (Fibre Channel) disk drives,

said plurality of second type disk drives are SATA (Serial AT Attachment) disk drives.

18. A storage system according to claim 15, wherein:

said I/O performance and said power consumption of each of said plurality of first type disk drives are different from said I/O performance and said power consumption of said plurality of second type disk drives due to media of each of said plurality of first type disk drives being different from media of each of said plurality of second type disk drives.

19. A storage system according to claim 15, wherein:

said different write procedure includes a read process reading data from said one or more of said plurality of disk drives.

20. A storage system according to claim 15, wherein:

a life or reliability of each of said plurality of first type disk drives is different from a life or reliability of each of said plurality of second type disk drives.

21. A storage system, comprising:

a controller adapted to be coupled to at least one of information processing apparatuses and writing a plurality of data received from said at least one of information processing apparatuses and a parity data of said plurality of data in a plurality of disk drives;

a plurality of disk drive units including a plurality of first type disk drive units, each of which has a first type disk drive of said plurality of disk drives and stores data sent from the controller, and a plurality of second type disk drive units, each of which has a second type disk drive of said plurality of disk drives and stores data sent from the controller, wherein an I/O performance and power consumption of said first type disk drive are different from an I/O performance and power consumption of said second type disk drive,

wherein said plurality of first type disk drive units configure a first RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) group in which a plurality of first data and a first parity data of the plurality of first data are stored,

wherein said plurality of second type disk drive units configure a second RAID group in which a plurality of second data and a second parity data of said plurality of second data are stored, a RAID level of said second RAID group is same as a RAID level of said first RAID group, and

wherein said controller executes a different write procedure based on a type of disk drive to which data are written, if said controller writes data in one or more of said plurality of disk drive units.

22. A storage system according to claim 21, wherein:

said controller writes said plurality of data and said parity data in said plurality of disk drives via an FC (Fibre Channel) interface.

23. A storage system according to claim 21, wherein:

said first type disk drive is an FC (Fibre Channel) disk drive,

said second type disk drive is a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) disk drive.

24. A storage system according to claim 21, wherein:

said I/O performance and said power consumption of said first type disk drive are different from said I/O performance and said power consumption of said second type disk drive due to media of said first type disk drive being different from media of said second type disk drive.

25. A storage system according to claim 21, wherein:

said different write procedure includes a read process reading data from said one or more of said plurality of disk drive units.

26. A storage system according to claim 21, wherein:

a life or reliability of said first type disk drive is different from a life or reliability of said second type disk drive.